1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the retrieval and storage of image data captured using a digital image acquisition device such as a still camera, a video camera or a scanning device, and of image data stored on removable storage media such as compact flash, smart and memory stick media. An image retrieval architecture is described such that image data may be retrieved from any digital image acquisition device and/or from removable storage media, and a “one-click” image upload operation is available to minimize an amount of interaction needed to retrieve image data from the digital image acquisition device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital cameras are becoming more popular, particularly as the quality of a captured image begins to approach the quality of analog cameras (e.g., 35MM cameras). However, there are still some drawbacks with digital cameras. For example, a digital camera has limited storage capacity which gives rise to a need to be able to transfer images captured by the digital camera to external storage. In addition, unlike analog images, the procedures for processing images require the user to use some sort of computing equipment (e.g., personal computer, or PC) to retrieve an image in the camera's storage and/or process a retrieved image.
Typically, a digital camera user must individually retrieve each image saved in the camera's storage for storage on the PC. The PC may be owned by the user or an acquaintance, or the user may make use of one of the photo kiosks located in a publicly-accessible place (e.g., stores, hotels, etc.). Individual selection of each image that is to be uploaded from the camera can be tedious and time consuming, and may be especially undesirable when the images are being uploaded using someone else's PC or a photo kiosk.
Further, a user may wish to upload the image to a server (e.g., an Internet server) such as a photo web server to store and/or process the image, to generate photo quality prints, or to share the image with other site users. To make use of the photo web server's capabilities, a user must first upload an image to a PC, then log onto the Internet, locate the server, locate the image stored on the PC that is to be uploaded and select an upload operation. The user uses client software (e.g., a browser) that executes on the PC to provide an interface with the photo web server that steps the user through the upload process. Once the user selects the submit button in the interface, the browser initiates a push operation to push the image onto the server. The photo web server receives the uploaded image and stores it on a server.
However, the conventional mechanisms used to upload a digital image have drawbacks. For example, in order to upload an image, the user must own or have access to a PC. In addition, the upload process involves multiple steps to first upload to the PC and then to a server. If the server is too busy to receive the image at the time it is initiated by the user, the user must repeat some or all of the previously-described upload steps. Further, the conventional mechanism assumes that the client PC has sufficient resources to store an image and to execute browser software that is capable of pushing an image from the PC's storage to the server.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,365, issued to Maurinus et al., describes a technique for transmitting sets of raw image information along with a camera identification code, or ID, from a Home Interface Control (HIC) such as a Set Top Box (STB) through an interactive television network to an interactive control node. The camera's ID is used to retrieve corrections and processing software for the camera, and the corrections are made to the image data using the camera's correction information and processing software. The correction information and processing software are either provided by the camera's manufacturer or the camera user.
Maurinus indicates that computing equipment that many households already have in the home, an HIC, may be used to upload image data. However, Maurinus identifies many uncertainties with respect to the manner in which the images are to be uploaded, using an HIC, to a server or cable head end (CHE). In fact, according to Maurinus, the configuration of an HIC had not yet been determined and Maurinus could not provide such specifics. In fact, Maurinus speculates that an HIC will likely be based on a powerful microprocessor-based computer. However, in actuality, an HIC, such as that provided by Scientific-American, Inc. and General Instrument Corporation, typically has limited processing resources.
In addition, according to Maurinus, to use the system a user must first register a camera and, as a result, an identification code, or ID, that identifies the camera is associated with the camera's correction information and software for correcting an image using the correction information.
Maurinus is silent with regard to an actual mechanism for uploading images from the camera to the HIC and to the control node. Maurinus is silent with regard to uploading images using an HIC where the HIC may need to be configured for use with multiple, different cameras.
Thus, it would be beneficial to have an image retrieval capability that provides an approach for uploading images, and that may be used with any manufacturer's cameras regardless of whether or not a camera has first been registered with a service provider.